This post was going to start off with 100% PURE EXCITEMENT FOR THE FUCKING NYC MARATHON. OBVIOUSLY. Until Hurricane Sandy came.

I currently live in Bergen County NJ (very North Eastern NJ, 17 miles to NYC, to be exact). I grew up in Point Pleasant, NJ (Ocean County, NJ, and still wish I lived there). However, there are these shitty fucking things that happen, like hurricanes that travel all the way up to the tri-state area and wreak havoc on us. I will ALWAYS support the Jersey Shore (no matter what those fucks did to taint it).

Prior to Sandy, to me, the respectable Jersey Shore was Point Pleasant, Manasquan, Belmar and (all of) LBI (I have family there). After Sandy, the Jersey Shore includes every town from Long Branch down to fucking Cape May. We are one in the same. After all of the preparations and fear, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in NJ, somewhere just south of Atlantic City. It is hard to write this post without crying. To be honest, it is hard to sit up in North Jersey and watch your hometown be destroyed by the minute. I drank a lot (and ate more than acceptable) to get through it.

THANKFULLY, my parents and sisters (and aunt/uncle/cousin) live more than a mile and a half from the ocean. My family is ok. That is my first priority. I am happy to report that to you. The damage is minimal, I am happy to report that to you as well.

SO – on to the next depressing topic – What do I know about the NYC Marathon? I have no idea. I read a fewarticles. Is it legit? I have no idea to be honest!!! (I’m sure there will be updated articles after I post this)!

Now. The content of this post: Why I am excited to run the NYC Marathon: (I wrote these down on the post-its at work on throughout the week last week, actually) 🙂

I am finally running the race – I have been denied by the lottery for two years (as have many others). For those doing the NYRR 9+1 qualification – you know it takes a long time. I have been working since January 2011 for this race (and luckily for me, the cost went up in 2012).

I am running with Sky again. I could have never finished the NJ Marathon sub-4 without her. END OF STORY.

The support and encouragment – It is constant and it is endearing! I could not ask for more from my family and my friends! My friends planned on following me throughout the course – through Brooklyn (x2) and Manhattan (x3). Post hurricane and MTA shutdown, may not possible! However, the support is still there 🙂

The chills – I get the chills when I think about the marathon in general! I spent the last few years as a spectator. In 2009, I made my way to mile 18 (hungover as shit) to mile 18 to see a friend, and saw many runners visit their family members. I cried, over and again. In 2010, my friend ran. When I saw him I screamed as loud as I could as the same mile marker!!! He looked so strong! At the end of the race, we iced him. I still feel bad, because I know he will eventually pay me back. The sidelines are AMAZING!!!

Before last week I was convinced that the Central Park hills would be no problem for me. Anyone who has run the marathon before knows better (I am a rookie). The 5th Ave hill (climb) back into the park is no joke. However, I know the crowd will pull me through the god awful MILE LONG CLIMB!

The NYC Marathon signs. They have been up for weeks now (and hopefully still up now). I ignored them in the years passed. Now I embrace them like a mother fucker. They are MY SIGNS and I love them.

The finish line!

Although not the REAL finish, and you’ve seen this picture. This shit is LEGIT.

There are probably more reasons. When I think of them, I will create another post 🙂 For now, lets just think of everyone who has been misplaced from the hurricane. She was an asshole. Let’s hope everyone is safe.

As for the NYCM – should it go on? Can it go on? Who the hell knows? Either way, I would love to run it. The city was built on resilience, obviously. But if NYC cannot be cleaned up in time, I get that too. Hurricanes like this are no joke. Me? My legs want to run. My heart wants to help everyone that needs help. It definitely puts things in perspective!

For some reason my B (-) blood is the second most rare blood type and I am going to give it back. I plan going home and donating blood to the American Red Cross (YOU SHOULD TOO)!!!! Even if you do no have a weirdly rare blood type.

This week was full of emotions. I went from being scared out of my mind, and doubting my ability to pure excitement! I ran more this week than the last (more than double, actually) and gained back my confidence for the marathon! The race is officially 6 days from now. All we need to do is survive a hurricane. What the fuck is that?

Week 16 (10/22 – 10/28)

Monday 10/122: Rest

Tuesday 10/23: Ran in Central Park with a friend – 5.6 mi (9:05 pace)- I felt like crap this entire run. I had a stomach ache and felt like I was dragging ass! I could barely make it up and down the hills without complaining, sorry Jess! Just one of those days I guess!

Wednesday 10/24: I had plans to wake up early and run 10(ish) miles with Abby. Once again my alarm clock and tiredness failed me and I got to the city much later than I had wanted to. I ended up meeting her for most of the run and unfortunately both struggled to get our pace under 9 min/mile for some reason. It was definitely another day of tough running!

Thursday 10/25: Flip for Refine Method event hosted by Well & Good NYC – This was a shortened version of Refine Method (45 min). It was actually a great class considering I felt like crap and didn’t eat enough prior. I was thrilled I was able to meet the founder of the studio, Brynn. She is just as amazing as I had heard! Prior to the class we were able to make a “flip book” of an exercise! Such a cool experience!

Saturday 10/27: I had plans to go into the city on Sunday morning to run my last long(er) run! I was going to run 5 or 6 miles and then the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff (5 miles) with Dori! Late on Friday night I saw that Lora and Jess were planning on running the last 10 miles of the marathon course on Saturday morning so I decided to jump in with them as it would be more beneficial to me! The run was hosted by Mike Keohane (MK Coaching) and it was really great! He provided a bag check, fuel, water, and post-run bagels, coffee and candy!

I ended up running with 5 awesome (fast) women, Jess, Jocelyn, Gia, and Meggie. They were amazing company and great conversation and laughs helped me get through running a bit faster than I had originally planned! I am happy I ran the miles and now know what to expect. I’m hoping the crowds will push me through that mile climb up 5th (110 to 90) before entering the park.

Top: Gia, Meggie, JocelynBottom: Jess, Lora, Me

Crossing the (would be) finish line of the NYCM with Meggie!Photo courtesy of Gia!

I forgot my Garmin but the stats were as follows (based on Lora’s Garmin):

Last week I said this week would be my “peak week.” Welp, that turned out to be a bunch of BS, mostly because I was a lazy POS and wanted to watch Revenge on Netflix instead of going for my last (scheduled) long run.

Week 15 (10/15 – 10/21)

Monday 10/15:Refine Method – 1 hour. Dori was kind enough to set up an event at the new Refine Studio on the UWS (117 W 72 St btw Columbus and Amsterdam). Class was REALLY hard for me. My legs were still SO sore from the Half Marathon on Saturday. We did a lot of leg work (of course) and sprints in place. The instructor was amazing though! So motivating!

I also ran to and from my office to the studio – 3 miles total.

Tuesday 10/16: Rest

Wednesday 10/17: Central park run with a friend – 5.96 mi (9:05 pace)

Thursday 10/18: Refine Method – 1 hour. I took a 6:30 am class with Dori, Erin and Katherine. Once again, it was a tough class (still sore, mostly from Refine class on Monday now) but it was a great way to start my day!

Erin and I ran from her apartment to class – 2.3 miles total.

Friday 10/19: I took off of work because I was leaving in the early afternoon for a wedding in Long Island. I figured I could get my last long run in before I went. It was pouring all morning and I started watching Revenge on Netflix (best show ever). I kept waiting for the rain to stop and it never did. By the time I dragged my lazy ass out the door, I had no time to run. I suck. I ran 2.2 mi in the rain (which I actually enjoyed, should have run more).

Saturday 10/20: WEDDING FUN!

BRIDESMAIDS!

Sunday 10/21: Absolutely nothing.

Total Weekly Mileage: 13 (not enough, SHIT!)

I now have less than 2 weeks until the NYC Marathon. So I will try to do one more semi-long run this week and then taper (even though I’ve basically been tapering for a month). I am going to work on maintaining some speed by doing speed work outs and do some tempo runs as well. Things don’t always go as planned. I can only hope my training (if that’s hat you want to call it) is adequate enough to get me through 26 miles.

Meet Ashley

Welcome to Running Bun! I am Ashley, a working-mom who loves running and training for races, attempting yoga inversions, a strong cocktail, and a good dose of sarcasm. This blog is where I share a lot of random thoughts about the above with some parenting woes mixed in for good measure.